Boss Laser HP2436

Hi All-

Looking to buy a small (24x36) professional series laser to install within our prototyping machine shop. The Boss HP series is a CO2 laser that is advertised as being able to cut up to 18g stainless steel and 20g mild steel.

I've spoken with the reps and they have mentioned that despite being able to cut steel, it doesn't necessarily cut it well and you have to play with it to get the best results.

We only want to buy one laser and most of our material will be polymers, cardboard or wood, not metal. However the ability to cut even thin metal is desirable for us for cutting shims or even thin gears that we can then laminate to full thickness, for example internal ring gears that would be too time consuming to machine.

Any expert here that could explain the pros/cons of using a CO2 laser for cutting thin ferric metals? We want to keep the investment under $20k. Would we be able to use a machine like this to cut motor laminates from lamination grade steel?

Price and wattage? Which HP series?(Edit: Whoops I see you stated that)

Looking at the video they appear to be Chinese made. A lot are and not always a bad thing but support may be an issue. The controller I saw is from China and is a common one seen on the web in 2 and 3k e-bay machines and above. It is the 150 watt machine and that is the lowest wattage that may cut steel, s.s. and so forth. It may not cut aluminum well or at all. O2 gas heads are needed to cut SS and MS or Aluminum and they can be finicky and a bit costly to run. N2 is also a gas used.

CO2 lasers are really not the way to go for metals. They just don't have the power by the time the beam gets to the lens.

The cooling systems usually sold with them are water in a bucket with a pump...a whole set of it's own problems. Upgrading is almost a must to a professional cooling system at 600 to 800 bucks for 150 watt machine. Improper cooling can lead to tube failure and short tube life.

Maintenance is a must along with knowing what to maintain. Learning to run one is fairly simple most will take G-coding also. Eye safety is a must!! Fires do happen so fire suppression is to be considered. An exhaust system is necessary.

Fiber lasers are normally used for metal cutting and they can be pricey 50 to 250K.

In the lower price machines, I've been to this place and seen their's run. Not bad machines if set up properly and on a budget. However your still up into the 50K plus range for a 500 watt metal cutter.

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